Meet Our Tuscany Trip Ambassador: Emilia Pucci

We have one chance at this life so why not create something you would want instead of what others would want for you? This is the mentality of our Tuscany trip ambassador, Emilia Pucci. She has just recently made the conscious decision to leave her stable job in exchange for fulfilling her dream of merging technology with woven and traditional textile craftsmanship. She is an inspiration to all those dreamers out there to keep dreaming big while working hard towards making them into a reality.

After coming back from her trip to Peru, she stopped by our studio to discuss her exciting life and travel plans. Take a detour down below to find out more

Ciao! My name is Emilia Pucci and I was born and raised in Italy by an Italian father and a yankee mother. I always felt a bit of a weird mix, never really fitting one bucket or another. I obtained my BA in exhibition design in my hometown Florence, then went to get my MSc in Design for Interaction at TU Delft, in the Netherlands.

After my studies, I moved to San Diego to join the design and innovation consultancy team atRound Feather. During my time there, by job was to expand the digital service design business by fostering people’s happiness through design.

In my practice as a designer, I leverage my passion for people's stories by investigating their emotional tensions when interacting with products, services, and environments to design memorable experiences.

I travel the world to feed my curiosity for people and my love for cultural diversity. I find that traveling helps me always keep a fresh and curious mindset, and never take anything for granted. My hobbies include drawing people, combining world cuisines in unique fusions and making stuff, mostly out of textiles.

What is your vision as an artist?

My goal as an artist and designer is to merge digital technology and traditional textile craftsmanship into smart wearables, garments and accessories that will enhance people's experiences. I always encourage a hands-on approach to design for human flourishing.

My vision stems from the belief that garments are one of the most important interfaces humans have between our bodies and the external world. Like a second skin, clothes are vehicles to store and communicate information about ourselves on physical, emotional, sociocultural, and spiritual levels.

I am interested in using a combination of analog and digital materials to create novel interactions and behaviors. More specifically, I appreciate textile technologies that augment space and create conversations with and about ourselves. At the same time, in an increasingly tech-oriented and globalized society, I am keen to bringing forward the value of traditional crafts and techniques utilized by different cultures to re-colonize our style and empower local communities to bring their heritage and skills at the forefront of innovation.

Tell us more about your adventure in Peru.

My recent journey to Peru fostered my interest in the rich array of cultures that have preceded and survived the Spanish colonial influence.

The main focus was to learn about traditional Peruvian weaving not only in theory, but with my hands. I was able practicethe backstrap loom weaving technique from scratch and learn about the iconography of Andean textiles as information panels and transmitters of complex information in the fields of cosmology, astronomy, religion, myths and history. This experience truly blew my mind, and I just barely scratched the surface of it! I have plans to definitely go back as soon as possible, Peru is an ocean of wisdom on so many aspects. I definitely left a piece of heart there, with the people, the history, the natural beauty, all expressions of the Pachamama (Mother Nature for the Andean populations).

What are you doing now after Peru?

I am going to Colorado to work at CU Boulder on a summer art project involving textiles and technology. My goal is to start putting together the crafts and knowledge that I have acquired in Peru, and shape my vision into a few reflective art pieces. I am keen on proposing a provocative point of view on art, femininity, culture and power. Female icons of divinity and our relationship to natural vs urban ecosystems are some of the ingredients of this creative hot pot. We’ll see what happens. As of right now, there are many factorsinvolved and of course a lot of hands on work; my absolute favorite!